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Monday, 8 December 2014

Getting Started & Keeping Going

You know that you want to look and feel fitter and
healthier!

You know that you will feel better after a workout, yet you just
can't bridge the gap between lying on the sofa, thinking about exercise and
actually doing it. "Knowing what is good for you and wanting to do it is,
alone, not sufficient to make sustainable behaviour changes," says Dr
Falko Sniehotta, a psychologist at the University of Aberdeen. "The
proverb, 'The road to hell is paved with good intentions', is backed up by
science. There is often a substantial gap between our intentions and our
behaviour."

Ten top tips to boost your motivation

Take 10 Make a deal with yourself to do 10 minutes and
you will probably end up completing a full workout.

Get your kit on Get up or go home and put on your
workout clothes. Once they are on, you'll feel you may as well make use of
them.

Distract yourself Research at San Diego State
University suggests that most novice exercisers do better when chatting to a
friend, listening to music or watching television.

Psych yourself up Listening to uplifting music before
and during exercise can be beneficial.

Phone a friend "A workout buddy gives you a moral
obligation to turn up, introduces an element of rivalry to push you harder and
offers feedback, support and fun," says sports psychologist Costas
Karageorghis.

Get a gadget Equipment that allows you to monitor your
progress - such as heart rate monitors, pedometers and the Nike + Sports Kit
(which monitors pace and distance) can help. Research by the Walking the Way to
Health Initiative found that people who wore pedometers over a 12-week period
ended up walking an extra 1,000 steps daily.

Make it bite-size Focus only on the moment and before
you know it, you'll be cooling down.

Imagine it Visualisation is a very powerful mental
strategy, but be careful. "If you see yourself sprawled on the sofa,
feeling guilty about not being at the gym, your mind will take on board those
negative feelings," says exercise coach Amelia Watts. "Better to
visualise yourself exercising and feeling good. See yourself on the home
stretch of a run - imagine how good you feel, what you might hear, smell and
see when you put your key in the door."

Get minted As far-fetched as it might seem, research in
the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology found that sniffing peppermint
resulted in increased running speed, hand grip strength and number of push-ups
performed in a test.